San Clemente: What to do about beach cobblestones, seaweed?

San Clemente, beset with an eroding coastline, doesn't have a wealth of wide, sandy beaches. The town does have a wealth of cobblestones that many people don't like. And increased accumulations of seaweed litter the beach, bringing kelp flies.

The cobble and the kelp are more or less permanent fixtures, according to a beach ecology report and an accompanying policy that won the Beaches, Parks and Recreation Commission's support by a 5-1 vote Tuesday night.

The policy will go to the City Council for final review. It advises the city to do nothing to try to get rid of the large fields of cobblestone.

"Cobble is the underlying composition of the beach," the report says. "Sand is deposited and removed seasonally (by storms, surf, tides and currents). Long-term erosion of the sand has exposed more cobble. Since removal of cobble has unknown consequences to the long-term health of the beach substructure, staff recommends it be left in place."

Sharon Heider, director of beaches, parks and recreation, said it isn't that the city wants to preserve a cobble beach, but research suggests that the cobble is a natural strata, and trying to remove it could lead to worse erosion.

If a proposed Army Corps of Engineers sand-replenishment project in San Clemente comes to fruition, Heider said, local officials will welcome new imported sand and it will cover the cobble between Linda Lane Beach and south of T-Street Beach. The plan would lay a thick carpet – 250,000 cubic yards of imported sand – onto the beach about every six years, as needed.

On the question of seaweed piling up on the beach, the proposal is to leave kelp alone in the off-season and remove it with sand-grooming during the summer. Current city policy removes it in summer and allows for removal during spring break and in periods of warm winter weather. The new thinking would leave kelp untouched during winter and spring break. The city manager could make case-by-case exceptions if exceptional circumstances justify it.

Commissioner Steve Streger voted against the policy, saying he disagreed with the cobble policy and felt that kelp should be removed during more of the year – especially through the fall, which can be nice on the beach. Streger said the city should keep options open for cobble removal, Kelp and cobble minimize already scarce towel space, he said, and cobble could pose a liability concern.

David Clegg, a local resident, told commissioners that San Clemente's beaches look the worst he has seen in his 12 years in town. "I am embarrassed by our beach," he said. When he has guests, he said, he takes them to beaches out of town. If the rocks have to stay, he said he hopes they can be covered with sand.

Heider said the city does what it can to stockpile sand in the off-season by using a bulldozer to push it at opportune times from near shore up onto the beach. The proposed policy is to do more of that.

"I doubt there will be very much difference," said Dennis Reed, beaches and parks maintenance manager. "It depends on (how much sand) is available to us."

The ecology report says that storm action removes sand in winter, exposing more cobble, and summer swells restore sand. In recent years, more cobble has remained in summer due to a decrease in natural sand coming out of creeks. Changes in ocean levels, waves and currents may also be at play, the report says.

Kelp on the beach "provides moisture to the sand around it and keeps it in place from being eroded by wind and waves," the report says. "It also retains sand behind it."

The kelp is home to kelp flies, beach hoppers and intertidal pill bugs – creatures that do not pose a hazard for human health but are part of the eco system and are consumed by shore birds, the report said.